The US Trends | Ashlee Simpson | Ashlee Simpson is an American singer and actress. Simpson rose to prominence with the success of her No.#1 debut album "Autobiography"and the reality series in 2004,The Ashlee Simpson Show.In October 2005,following aNorth American concert tour and a film appearance, Ashlee Simpson released her 2ndNo.#1 album,IAm Me. The 3rd album of Ashlee Simpson,Bittersweet World,was released in April2008.

Ashlee Nicole Simpson was born onOctober 3,1984 inWaco, and raised inRichardson, Texas. Ashlee Simpson is the daughter of TinaAnn,a homemaker,and JoeTruett Simpson,a former Baptist youth minister who works as her manager. Simpson attended PrairieCreek Elementary School.She has an older sister,Jessica,who is also a singer. Simpson began studying classical ballet when she was 3years old,eventually becoming an accomplished dancer.She was admitted to the School of American Ballet in New York City at the age of eleven,a year in advance.During that time,Simpson suffered from an eating disorder;the condition lasted for about 6months before her parents stepped in and got her the help she needed to overcome the issue.WhenJessica landed a record deal,Tina andJoe Simpson made the decision to relocate to Los Angeles, California,where Ashlee began appearing in television commercials.

Following the success of Jessica\\'s first album, Ashlee Simpson became one of her backup dancers.She later began appearing in films and television series,including a2001 episode of the sitcomMalcolm in the Middle,a minor role in the2002 filmThe Hot Chick,and a recurring role on the family drama series 7thHeaven.Simpson recorded a song entitled "ChristmasPast, Present and Future"in2002 for the holiday album School\\'sOut! Christmas,which was later rereleased on Radio Disney Jingle Jams in2004 and2005.In the summer of2003, Ashlee Simpson began a short stint as a VJ for MTV and also released a song called "JustLetMe Cry"for the soundtrack to the filmFreaky Friday. Ashlee Simpson occasionally appeared onNewlyweds:Nick andJessica,a reality show documenting the married life of her sister, Jessica Simpson ,and her then-husband,NickLachey.

After her appearances on the Schoo\\l'sOut!Christmas andFreaky Friday albums, Ashlee Simpson signed a record deal withGeffen Records.As an accompaniment to her debut album and in order to create interest in the beginning of her own music career,she filmed and appeared on her own reality television series,The Ashlee Simpson Show,which aired in the time slot followingNewlyweds.It ran in the United States for 8weekly episodes over the summer of2004(a second season of 10episodes aired fromJanuary to March2005).The show dealt with the processes of writing,recording and performing Simpson\\'s music,as well as aspects of her personal life.

Simpson's first album,Autobiography,debuted at No#1 in the United States inJuly 2004,with 1st-week sales of around398,000copies.The album was certified triple-platinum by theRIAA inSeptember 2004.Simpson cowrote all of the album\\'s tracks,describing it as"very true to my emotions",however,critical reviews were mixed.Rolling Stone magazine\\'s PeterRelic characterised the album as a"mundane melange ofAvril-ish brat pop andSheryl Crow cod rock."The single which preceded the album,"Pieces of Me",was one of the biggest hits of the summer in the United States and was certified gold by theRIAA.The follow-up singles,"Shadow"and"LaLa",were less successful,although the latter became an RIAA-certified gold seller.At the Teen Choice Awards onAugust 8,2004,Simpson received the"Song of theSummer"Teen Choice Award for"Pieces of Me",as well as the"Fresh Face"Award.She also won the Billboard Award forNew Female Artist of the Year inDecember,and in the same month,Entertainment Weekly named her one of itsBreakout Stars of2004.

Ashlee Simpson appeared as a musical guest onOctober 23,2004episode of Saturday Night Live,where Simpson was scheduled to perform 2songs,"Pieces of Me"and"Autobiography".When she began singing"Autobiography",the vocals for"Pieces of Me"were heard again before Simpson had the microphone to her mouth.She began to do an impromptu jig when she realized the embarrassing error,and then left the stage.During the closing of the show,Simpson appeared with the guest host,JudeLaw,and said,"I'm so sorry.My band started playing the wrong song,and I didn\\'t know what to do,so I thought I\\'d do a hoedown."On October 25,Simpson called in to the music video showTotal RequestLive and explained that due to complications arising from severe acid reflux disease, Ashlee Simpson had completely lost her voice and been advised not to sing by her doctor.She said that because of the acid reflux,her father wanted her to use a vocal guide track for the performance.During the performance her drummer hit the wrong button,which caused the wrong track to be played.Simpson said of the incident,"Imade a complete fool of myself."

OnJanuary 4,2005, Ashlee Simpson performed "LaLa" at the halftime show for the2005 Orange-Bowl in Miami, Florida.After her performance,many of the72,000-plus spectators booed.Some viewers noted that Kelly Clarkson had performed in the show earlier to a much more positive reaction,and asserted that Simpson//'s performance was poor and very offkey.After the Orange Bowl performance,an internet petition was created atPetitionOnline.com,which requested that Simpson stop producing music.It soon became one of the most active of the site//'s petitionsIn regards to the negativity towards her,Simpson said,"That's cool.You don//'t always have to be a fan of everybody//'s music",adding that  Simpson receives a great amount of support from her fans.Around the time of the petition, Cosmopolitan magazine chose Simpson to be on the cover of theFebruary 2005issue,naming her the "Fun Fearless Female of the Year".Simpson\\'s 1st North American tour ran from mid-February to lateApril 2005.The tour was described as"stripped down"without pyrotechnics.As well as material from Autobiography,Simpson performed her own unreleased song"Hollywood",The Pretenders'"Brass in Pocket", Blondie\\'s"Call Me"and Madonna\\'s"Burning Up".She had a supporting role as an aspiring actress named/Clea in Undiscovered,an independent film which was released in theaters inAugust 2005.While her performance was met with indifference,the film itself was panned by critics,and failed to reach the top 10 in its opening weekend,earning just $ 676,048 during its theatrical run.Her performance in the film earned her aRazzie nomination forWorst Supporting Actress.

The 2nd album of Simpson,I Am Me,was released onOctober 18,2005.She wanted to incorporate the feel of music from the1980s on the album,and unlike with her debut,she wanted to focus less on relationships and more on herself.The album debuted at No#1, selling around220,000copies in its first week,but sales fell quickly,and byApril 2006,it had sold less than900,000copies in the United States and 3million copies worldwide.Its lead single,"Boyfriend",became a top20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 while the next 2singles,"L.O.V.E."and "Invisible",reached the top 40.Simpson began a concert tour in lateSeptember in Portland, Oregon and appeared on theOctober 8,2005 episode of SNL to promote the album.The 1st song she performed on the show was"CatchMe WhenI Fall",a ballad written about her previousSNLexperience,and she thanked the crowd after her second performance.In mid-December,Simpson collapsed after performing in Japan,and was briefly hospitalized,consequently cancelling an appearance at the Radio Music Awards.The collapse and her subsequent hospitalization were attributed to exhaustion as a result of her busy work schedule.InMarch 2006,Simpson won an MTV celebrity surfing invitational competition,which also featured celebrities such asMeagan Good,Jack Osbourne,Ashley ParkerAngel andTony Hawk.OnApril 12,2006, Simpson hosted and performed at theMTV Australia Video Music Awards,where she won"Best Female Artist"and"Best Pop Video"for the single"Boyfriend".She began a summer tour onJune 5,2006,withAshley ParkerAngel as the opening act.Simpson said that after the completion of the tour,she would look at film scripts and continue her acting career.

Ashlee Simpson had a nose job in April 2006. In the May 2007 issue of Harper's Bazaar, she said that she was not insecure about her appearance and had not been beforehand. She said that plastic surgery was a "personal choice" that one should only decide to do for oneself and not for others.In a September 2007 interview, her father, Joe Simpson said of the surgery: "There was a real problem with her breathing and that was cured".In mid-2006, Simpson gave an interview to Marie Claire magazine, in which she was said to have "had it with Hollywood's twisted view of feminine beauty" and was photographed painting a pro-female mural with a group of underprivileged girls from Los Angeles' Green Dot Public School.By the time the magazine hit newsstands, Simpson had already had her nose job, and some Marie Claire readers complained that this was hypocritical. The magazine received over 1,000 letters of complaint and the magazine's new editor expanded the letters section of the September issue of the magazine to give readers a chance to vent their frustrations.She played the role of Roxie Hart in the West End production of Chicago to rave reviews, from September 25 to October 28, 2006.Her performance in the show was described as "dazzling and near flawless.".

During 2007, Ashlee Simpson worked on her third studio album, Bittersweet World with producers Timbaland, Kenna, and Chad Hugo.She described the album as being influenced by 1980s music—bearing similarities with I Am Me—while still incorporating elements of rock and pop and described her intention to go on tour to support the album.Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair said in December 2006 that working on Simpson's next album would be "very tricky" because of press scrutiny and "prejudices", but that Geffen would work with her to overcome that, "because she deserves to be heard and she deserves a shot."Bittersweet World was released in the United States on April 22, 2008 to mixed reviews.The album's first single, the Timbaland-produced "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)", was released as a digital download in December 2007, but failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Little Miss Obsessive", was released in March 2008 and performed marginally better, reaching number 96 on the Hot 100.A collection of tops designed by Simpson was launched by the clothing retailer Wet Seal on April 22, in connection with the album's release,and she also began appearing in commercials for Canadian retailer Zellers to promote their independent clothing line, Request, in mid-2008. Bittersweet World has sold 126,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Ashlee Simpson announced her engagement to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz on April 9, 2008.She had previously been wearing what she described as a "promise ring" from Wentz for several months.She chose not to confirm or deny reports that she was pregnant, saying that it was something to "keep personal."On May 17, 2008, Simpson and Wentz marriedat Simpson's parents' residence in Encino, California, where her father officiated the ceremony. Her surname changed from Simpson to Wentz and she was briefly known professionally as Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.On May 28, 2008, Simpson and Wentz confirmed that they were expecting their first child.Simpson gave birth to their son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz, on November 20, 2008.Simpson appeared alongside her husband in the crime drama series CSI: NY in 2009.

Ashlee Simpson returned full-time to television episodes by playing the role of Violet Foster in Melrose Place, the CW's revamp of the '90s series of the same name.She was originally signed to the show as a regular, but producers and CW executives decided to write out her character, and she left the show after 13 episodes. Various rumors circulated as to the reason for her sudden departure, with theories including feuds with other cast members, lack of acting ability and financial issues. Her departure was generally attributed to the show needing a "face lift" because of the decreasing viewing figures.Simpson stated that she had known all along that her character would leave the show once the murder mystery storyline had concluded.After her departure from Melrose Place, Simpson reprised her role in the Broadway musical production of Chicago. She began her Broadway run on November 30, 2009 and performed in New York for six weeks. She played eight shows a week until February 7, 2010.When her run was completed, she stated that she was going to take a break to spend time with her son before beginning to work on her fourth studio album.

On February 9, 2011, it was announced that Ashlee Simpson had filed for divorce from Pete Wentz, citing irreconcilable differences. In the filing, she requested joint legal custody with visitation for Wentz, but sole physical custody and spousal support. She also asked that her name be restored to her birth name of Ashlee Nicole Simpson.

Ashlee Simpson created a fashion line in collaboration with her sister\\'s successful brand.She is the cocreative director of the line,aimed at girls aged seven to sixteen,which is set to be in stores by the end of 011.In an interview withPaper magazine,Simpson stated that her new album would have a"folk feel".However,onJune23,2011,RyanSeacrest confirmed onOn Air with RyanSeacrest that Simpson had been having meetings with record executives along with previous collaborator,John Shanks,to figure out the exact direction of her next album.Simpson appeared on the 2nd episode ofThe CW\\'s America'sNext Top Model, Cycle17 as a guest judge.In the episode,she declared that she was still working on her new album.InOctober 2011,John Feldmann,who previously worked on 2tracks onAutobiography revealed via Twitter that he was recording with Simpson.

When Ashlee Simpson first broke onto the music scene in2004,she was set apart from her sister,Jessica\\'s already established image due to a different music style,different fashion choices,and a more assertive personality.Simpson\\'s songs have been characterized by rock elements absent from her sister\\'s music,and,particularly during her early career,Simpson would often wear outfits highlighting a rock or punk-influenced sense of style.She cites her childhood as being the time when she began to sing,and admits that she dreamed of being on Broadway and did not expect to break into the pop music scene.Simpson trains with a vocal coach,and studiesEtta James andAretha Franklin albums for vocal inspiration.She has cited Gwen Stefani,No Doubt,Joan Jett,The Runaways,Madonna,Pat Benatar,Green Day,Alanis Morissette,Fiona Apple,Chrissie Hynde,andDebbieHarry fromBlondie as her musical influences.